More than a dozen survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse have accused Melania Trump of 'shifting the burden' onto them after the first lady called on Congress to hold public hearings with victims of Epstein's crimes.
In a statement, the group of 13 survivors and the brother and sister of the late Virginia Giuffre said: 'Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have already shown extraordinary courage by coming forward, filing reports, and giving testimony. Asking more of them now is a deflection of responsibility not justice.'
The rebuke came after Melania issued a surprise statement denying any relationship with Epstein or his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and insisting she had no knowledge of his crimes. She also called for Congress to hold public hearings and take sworn testimony from survivors.
The survivors criticised the move as a distraction from failures by the Department of Justice and former attorney general Pam Bondi, who they said 'must answer for withheld files and the exposure of survivors' identities'. They argued that 'those failures continue to put lives at risk while shielding enablers'.
Two other survivors, Maria and Annie Farmer, separately said they wanted 'accountability, transparency, and justice', adding that the federal government had 'long mismanaged the Epstein investigation by repeatedly ignoring survivors, violating their privacy, and refusing to release the remaining records'.
Survivor Marina Lacerda posted a video questioning the purpose of testifying, asking: 'Will it change anything? Will people be held accountable?' Another survivor, Lisa Phillips, also commented on the first lady's remarks.
